Search the Dictionary

uched invective. Milton. I had received a letter from Flora couched in rather cool terms. Blackw. Mag.

own and rise up to feed, -- such time being held to include a day and night at the least. Blackstone.

A particular rural district; a country neighborhood. [Eng.] W. Black. Blackmore.

once a year, in a particular hundred, lordship, or manor, before the steward of the leet. Blackstone.

The cow blackbird (Molothrus ater), an American starling. Like the European cuckoo, it builds no nest, but lays its eggs in the nests of other birds; -- so called because frequently associated with cattle.

A weed of the genus Melampyrum, with black seeds, found on European wheatfields.

A thin, crimped stuff, made of raw silk gummed and twisted on the mill. Black crape is much used for mourning garments, also for the dress of some clergymen. A saint in crape is twice a saint in lawn. Pope. Crape myrtle (Bot.), a very ornamental shrub (Lagerströmia Indica) from the East Indies, often planted in the Sou…

or sound, like that occasioned by the creeping of insects. A creep of undefinable horror. Blackwood's Mag. Out of the stillness, with gathering creep, Like rising wind in leaves. Lowell.

var. Americana) inhabits America; -- called also tree creeper and creeptree. The American black and white creeper is Mniotilta varia.

itutes a crime; guiltiness; guilt. This is by no means the only criterion of criminality. Blackstone.

it or demerit of; esp., to animadvert upon; to find fault with; as, to criticise conduct. Blackwood's Mag.

The loose black particles collected from combustion, as on pots and kettles, or in a chimney; soot; smut; also, coloring matter which rubs off from cloth.

A croche, or knob, on the top of a stag's antler. The antlers and the crockets. W. Black.

A pothook. "As black as the crook." Sir W. Scott.

A bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles. It has a harsh, croaking note. See Caw.

A heathlike plant of the genus Empetrum, and its fruit, a black, scarcely edible berry; -- also called crakeberry.

gn; -- with the definite article. Parliament may be dissolved by the demise of the crown. Blackstone. Large arrears of pay were due to the civil and military servants of the crown. Macaulay.

Citrullus or Cucumis Colocynthis. SeeColocynth. -- Cucumber beetle. (Zoöl.) (a) A small, black flea-beetle (Crepidodera cucumeris), which destroys the leaves of cucumber, squash, and melon vines. (b) The squash beetle. -- Cucumber tree.(a) A large ornamental or shade tree of the genus Magnolia (M. acuminata), so call…

and caraway. [Written also cummin.] Rank-smelling rue, and cumin good for eyes. Spenser. Black cumin (Bot.), a plant (Nigella sativa) with pungent seeds, used by the Afghans, etc.

A black resinoid extract prepared by the South American Indians from the bark of several species of Strychnos (S. toxifera, etc.). It sometimes has little effect when taken internally, but is quickly fatal when introduced into the blood, and used by the Indians as an arrow poison. [Written also urari, woorali, woorari,…